The night Jim and I first started playing music together, we had chicken Parmesan for dinner made by his mom, Jane. Now we celebrate the anniversary of that day by playing Chopin’s Cello Sonata together (Jim plays the piano and I play the cello) and we have chicken Parmesan for dinner.
Some tips for breading the chicken: Cut the chicken breasts thin–maybe 1/2″ thickness. Also, spread your breadcrumbs out on a baking pan and lay the chicken pieces in it. This helps get an even coating on the chicken and allows you space to finish dredging them in egg.
I made a quick homemade tomato sauce for this, but you can just as easily use a jar or two of your favorite tomato sauce!
Chicken Parmesan Recipe by Baker’s Theory
Ingredients
For the chicken
1 1/3 lb chicken breast*, sliced thinly into 8-9 pieces
Salt and pepper for initial chicken seasoning
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup regular breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 tbsp butter, divided
Fresh and sliced mozzarella
Also
Tomato sauce (see below for recipe)
1 lb cooked spaghetti
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, for topping
Serves 8
Instructions
For the chicken
Slice the chicken breast into thin, mini breasts. You should have about 8-9 mini chicken breasts. Sprinkle them each with salt and pepper. Put flour in a shallow dish. Drop the chicken in the shallow dish of flour, coating each piece with flour. Set chicken on a plate.
In a medium bowl, beat two eggs with 1/4 cup milk.
In a large rimmed baking pan combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder. You can use your hands to mix it up so the mixture is consistent.
Dredge each chicken piece in the egg mixture, then drop onto the breadcrumbs in the pan. Do this for each piece of chicken until they are all in the pan. Turn the chicken in the breadcrumbs, making sure they are coated completely in breadcrumbs.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350.
Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a medium skillet and fry the breaded chicken breasts in batches, just long enough to get a golden crust on both sides of the chicken. Use about 1 tbsp of butter per 3 mini breasts.
Transfer to the parchment-lined baking sheet and top with fresh mozzarella slices. Bake for 10 minutes.
Serve chicken atop al dente spaghetti and cover in tomato sauce (see below) and more grated Parmesan cheese.
For the tomato sauce (makes 8-10 servings)
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
4 tbsp butter
1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes
1 28 oz can (San Marzano) whole peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp white sugar
2 cups water or chicken broth
In a large Dutch oven melt butter. When bubbling, add onion and garlic, stirring for 3-5 minutes, until onions are soft. Pour in both cans of tomatoes. Add Italian seasoning, tomato paste, salt, sugar, and broth. Cook on medium-low heat, covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not burn. With a hand blender, puree the sauce until smooth and no pieces of onion or whole tomato are visible. Taste for salt, adding more if needed.
Ladle over cooked chicken breasts and pasta. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.